Venezuelan politicians vote to put President Maduro on trial for corruption

Venezuela’s president, Mr. Nicolas Maduro, is faced with the prospect of standing trial following a vote by the nation’s lawmakers. The motion was largely carried through by Venezuela’s opposition party, which is in control of the National Assembly.

The charges against Mr. Maduro relate to accusations of corruption. The opposition lawmakers assert that their president abandoned his position as well as staged a coup against Venezuela’s constitution.

Opposition lawmakers are taking such high-stakes measures because of the negative political implications of Mr. Maduro’s actions. Some believe that the coup has undermined the democratic principle of a voter’s right to choose in Venezuela.

Mr. Maduro’s far-reaching powers will likely bring these attempts at impeachment to a halt. The president exercises control over Venezuela’s Electoral Council. This council ultimately brought efforts to hold a referendum in order to recall Mr. Maduro to an end.

Additionally, Mr. Maduro has his nation’s courts in his pocket – essentially under the thumb of his leftist government. Thus, the opposition party in Venezuela has not been able to gain much traction. Their actions have largely been stymied by a series of court rulings.

Thus, it is expected that the recent vote by the National Assembly to charge Mr. Maduro will also be shot down by the Venezuelan courts.

Mr. Maduro’s undemocratic exercise of power is fueling political tensions in his country. Although Mr. Maduro has control of most of his government, the majority of the Venezuelan people want to remove him.

Opposition to Mr. Maduro is mainly rooted in dissatisfaction with his autocratic methods of rule, which many Venezuelans blame for recent economic hard times. Mr. Maduro is making an effort to mend the political divide.

This past week, he journeyed to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. The pope is attempting to mediate dialogue between the government and protestors in order to keep peace in the nation.

While the Venezuelan president has been looking outside of his nation for assistance, he is also giving blame for his nation’s political difficulties to outside governments.

Mr. Maduro blamed Venezuela’s political upheaval on President Obama. Mr. Maduro sees the attacks that he is facing as a redirection of resentments towards President Obama. Beacause Mr. Obama is vacating the presidency soon, Mr. Maduro believes the United States president is fueling discontent with the current state of the Venezuelan government.

With the political future of Venezuela uncertain, the nation is looking for answers to its problems beyond its own borders.

The Venezuelan army has asserted their continued support of the president. It seems unlikely that Mr. Maduro’s firm hold over the Venezuelan government will be shaken.